ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Vice President's Secretariat
Vice President calls for value-based education system;
Need for incorporating lessons on culture, traditions, history and heritage;
Students must keep abreast of latest areas in IT;
Inaugurates Centenary Celebrations of Patna High School
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has stressed the need for an integrated, value-based education system that will focus on all-round and holistic development of an individual to effectively face the challenges of the 21st century.
Inaugurating the Centenary Celebrations of Patna High School, in Patna today, he stressed the need for incorporating lessons on Indian culture, traditions, history and heritage.
He said the National Education Policy 2019 envisions an India-centric education system that contributes directly to transforming our nation sustainably into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society by providing high quality education to all.
Shri Naidu urged intellectuals and others to study the Education Policy and give their suggestions.
At the same time, Shri Naidu said the students should keep abreast of the latest areas in Information Technology like Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things and upgrade their knowledge and skills.
Observing that education makes a man civilized, cultured, dignified and deft, the Vice President opined that education was not only for employment and must make a person a responsible citizen who understands sufferings of others and becomes empathetic to their needs.
Advising the students to dream high and aim high, the Vice President asked them to inculcate the qualities of discipline, hard work, righteousness, honesty and develop social awareness to achieve success and reach higher career positions in life.
Talking about the importance of mother tongue or native Indian languages, he called for making mother tongue as a medium of instruction up to the primary school level.
He also emphasized the need for ensuring physical fitness among youngsters.
Congratulating Patna High School on the occasion of its centenary, he said the school had produced many eminent people in different walks of life.
The Governor of Bihar, Shri Fagu Chauhan, the Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar, the Governor of Sikkim, Shri Ganga Prasad, the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Sushil Kumar Modi and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
MoS Dr. Jitendra Singh reviews reparedness of J & K in combating COVID-19 through Video Conferencing
The Union Minister of State  for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern region and MOS in the Prime Ministers Office Dr. Jitendra Singh today reviewed the Preparedness of J & K in combating COVID-19 virus. The Review was held through Video Conference with Senior J&K UT officers, Heads of Govt Medical Institutions and Colleges.
The MOS Complimented the Medical Fraternity of the UT, especially the Junior Resident Doctors and Medical officers who directly deal with patients for effectively fighting the Coronavirus. He said India has emerged as one of the frontline nations of the world to combat COVID 19. He said that J&K has emerged as Good as Kerala state in fighting the pandemic. Dr. Jitendra Singh also re emphasised the use of AROGYA SETU App in combatting the COVID 19. Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the Govt was very concerned for the safety of the Medical and Healthcare workers and for this Reason the Ordinance for protection of Health care workers has been implemented. On the UTs request for augmenting the availability of standardized PPE kits and other equipments, the Minister said that the UT will be getting regular supply of PPE and testing kits for the corona virus.
Making a presentation on the preparedness of the UT, the Financial Commissioner, Deptt of Health shri Atal Dulloo informed that till date there have been a total of 434 positive cases in the UT. Out of this 57 are from Jammu and 377 from Kashmir. The Hon'ble Minister was informed that J&K is second only to Delhi in the whole country in testing of Case per million of population. The J&K is testing 818 persons per million population. About 80 zones in Kashmir and 15 in Jammu have been declared as containment zones. Shri Dulloo said that dedicated hospitals have set up in the UT, to deal with all category of cases. The UT has also re-employed 126 retired Doctore and De- contamination tunnels are being set up in hospitals and walk in sample collection booths have been set up. All frontier personnel have been provided with masks and safety kits.
The Hon'ble Minister was informed that Meetings have been held with religious leaders and videos are also being circulated asking people to cooperate and pray from homes. AYUSH Drugs and medicines are being distributed to all frontline staff and people to boost their immunity.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Availability of low-cost financing for farmers and state share of funds is a major challenge in implementation of the PM-KUSUM Scheme: Union Power & NRE Minister Shri R. K. Singh
The PM-KUSUM Scheme, which was launched in March, 2019 and scaled-up in November, 2020 has the following targets:
- Component ‘A’: 10 GW capacity through installation of small solar power plants each of capacity up to 2 MW on the barren/fallow land of the farmers;
- Component ‘B’: Installation of 20 lakh standalone off-grid solar water pumps; and
- Component ‘C’: Solarization of 15 lakh existing grid-connected agriculture pumps including feeder level solarization .
All three components combined aim to add 30.8 GW of additional solar capacity.
PM-KUSUM is a demand driven scheme and therefore quantities/ capacities are allocated under the three components of the scheme based on demand received from the States/ UTs. Funds under the scheme are released based on progress of installation reported by the State Implementing Agencies  and provisions of the scheme guidelines. As on 30.06.2023, a total of 113.08 MW capacity has been installed under Component ‘A’ and around
2.45 lakh pumps have been reported installed/ solarized under Component-B and Component- C combined. This is equivalent to about 1323 MW of installed solar capacity. So far more than Rs 1,646 Crore has been released to SIAs.
Availability of low-cost financing for farmers and state share of funds is a major challenge in implementation of the PM-KUSUM Scheme. In addition, the pace of implementation was significantly affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020-21 and 2021-22.
This information was given by The Union Minister of New Renewable Energy & Power Sh. R. K. Singh in Lok Sabha in a written reply today.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Malnutrition Free India
Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is making serious efforts to address this issue. Government implements Anganwadi Services Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and Scheme for Adolescent Girls under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services Scheme  as targeted interventions for Children under 6 years, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls, throughout the country. POSHAN Abhiyaan aims to reduce malnutrition in a phased manner, through a synergised and result oriented approach. Further, Mission Poshan 2.0, an integrated nutrition support programme has been announced in budget 2021-22 for all States/UTs. It seeks to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach and outcomes with focus on developing practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity to disease and malnutrition. All these schemes address in one or other aspects related to nutrition and have the potential to improve nutritional outcomes in the country.
Global Hunger Index  is published by ‘Concern Worldwide & Welthungerhilfe. The GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators, viz., Undernourishment among population, Child Wasting, Child Stunting and Child Mortality. GHI is a tool for measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and country levels. Global Hunger Index  does not reflect India’s true picture as it is a flawed measure of 'Hunger'. It should not be taken at face value as it is neither appropriate nor representative of hunger prevalent in a country. Out of its four indicators, only one indicator, i.e., undernourishment, is directly related to hunger. The indicator "undernourishment among population" in GHI is obtained through a gallup survey, which has completely disregarded Government’s economic response to Covid-19 of providing free food grains to 80 crore National Food Security Act beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna.
The data on nutritional indicators in the country on the other hand, is captured under the National Family Health Surveys conducted periodically by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Under the Survey, the level of malnutrition among children is assessed using the WHO standards and for adults the Body Mass Index cut-offs recommended by WHO are used to assess the prevalence of under and over nutrition. Further, NFHS also provides comprehensive information on other determinants of malnutrition, viz., prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies like anaemia, food intake and infant and young child feeding and care practices including data on immunization, maternal health and nutrition, etc. The data provided by the national level survey is used to guide policies and programmes to address the nutritional challenges faced by the country.
The prevalence of malnourished and severely acute malnourished children in the country as per the NFHS – 4  and NFHS – 5  data is annexed.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Defence
Ex-Servicemen play their part in providing succour to people in their fight against COVID-19
As the nation continues to battle Coronavirus , the Ex-Servicemen  belonging to Army, Navy and Air Force are assisting the civil administration and providing their services voluntarily and selflessly.
It is being coordinated by Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare , Ministry of Defence . The Veterans are being contacted through the Kendriya Sainik Board and a network of 32 Rajya Sainik Boards at state level and 403 Zila Sainik Board all over the country.
Karnataka
Brig Ravi Munniswamy  who is coordinating the effort across Karnataka is spearheading a team of 45 veteran bicycle riders in Bengaluru, who through a WhatsApp group are providing medicine and essential supplies to old and infirm in the city. Besides, several Ex-Servicemen volunteers in Dharwad, Davanagere, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mysuru and Kodagu are assisting in distribution of food and lock-down management.
Andhra Pradesh
Around 300 Ex-Servicemen volunteers are assisting the State Police in Andhra Pradesh. Some of the Ex-Servicemen associations like Tadepalligudem, West Godavari district association and 28 Air Defence Regiment ESM organization at Mangalagiri are distributing food and essential commodities among the poor. Shri Chaitanya ESM Association, Bheemunipatnam is assisting the Police in ensuring lock-down measures.
Uttar Pradesh
According to Brig Ravi , the Zila Sainik Boards in 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh are assisting with a team of ESM in monitoring of ration distribution, community surveillance and running of community kitchen for the needy besides assisting the senior veteran ESM also. They have already identified and contacted 6,592 ESM from Army Medical Corps in the state and put them on standby for any contingency.
Punjab
Brig Satinder Singh , Director Rajya Sainik Board, Punjab has informed that they have employed 4,200 Ex-Servicemen as Guardians of Governance who are present in every village of Punjab for data collection and community surveillance.
Chhattisgarh
Air Cmde A N Kulkarni, VSM  who is coordinating the response in Chhattisgarh has informed that so far only a handful of ESM have been employed to provide assistance to State Police in Bilaspur, Janjgir and Korba.
North-East
Brig Narain Dutt Joshi, SM  is ready with 300 ESM volunteers to assist in 19 Districts of Assam. Whereas Col Gautam Kumar Rai  at Shillong has 79 volunteers ready to assist the civil administration. Brig JP Tiwari  from Tripura has reported that the list of ESM volunteers has been shared with the State and district administration and they are on standby for any task assigned to them.
Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttarakhand
Similarly Brig Pathak  from Jharkhand, Col Rahul Yadav  from Haryana and Brig KB Chand  from Uttarakhand have done the same in their respective states. At a time when entire nation is under lockdown, the response from retired personnel of Army, Navy and Air Force as well as volunteer community service by Ex-Servicemen association, is very praiseworthy.
Ministry of Electronics & IT
Startups will increase 10 times in the next 4-5 years: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar
MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar engages with startups and entrepreneurs at JIIF’s 6th Foundation Day
Community and corporate partnerships are very important elements to startups: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, highlighted India’s remarkable progress in building unicorns and startups, how they have successfully entered areas in emerging technologies, such as AI, Web 3, and deep tech. Speaking at the JITO Incubation Innovation Foundation  6th Foundation Day & Investors/Startup Conclave in Hyderabad, the Minister engaged with industry leaders and aspiring young entrepreneurs.
Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar emphasised the transformative journey India has embarked upon since 2014. From being predominantly focused on IT and ITes, the next 4-5 years will witness substantial growth for startups and unicorns, the Minister said during his interaction.
“In 2014, our nation’s tech landscape was limited to IT and ITes. However, since then, opportunities have emerged across various domains such as deep tech, AI, data economy, semiconductor design, microelectronics, and high-performance computing. Due to the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi what was once just one-third of the overall tech space has now expanded, presenting immense potential for unicorns and startups. From 108 unicorns I am sure we will reach 10,000 in the next 4-5 years. Today we have over a lakh startups in India and it will increase by 10 times,” the Minister said.
Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar also lauded the collaborative efforts between the industry and the government to enhance skill development. Recognising the historic challenges faced by a significant portion of the population lacking skills, the Minister emphasised the transformative impact of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Skill India initiative.
He said that through strategic partnerships with both big and small companies, the government now works closely to identify necessary skills, creating a comprehensive framework with the active involvement of academia, communities and corporations.
“In 2014 there were 3 out of 4 Indians who were not skilled. Professionals joined the workforce every year unskilled and this was the legacy and the reason why for many years we had many smart people but they went off abroad. Education and skills were available to the elite part of the society and the rest were left to fend off alone and survive on their own. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Skill India reversed this. We continue to work with the industry in partnership with big and small companies and they tell us what these skills are and the Government partners towards creating a framework that is developed through a network academia. Community and corporate partnerships are very important elements to startups,” the Minister further added.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
“Clean Neighborhood, Clean Goa”: FOB Goa undertakes massive cleanliness drive on Miramar Beach
Massive cleanliness drive at Miramar Beach’ over 100 NCC cadets take out awareness rally
Panaji, 29 December 2021
Over 100 volunteers including NCC cadets of 1 Goa Battalion NCC Panaji undertook a massive cleanliness drive at Miramar Beach as part of “Clean Neighborhood, Clean Goa’ initiative of Field Outreach Bureau-Goa, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, on 29th December, 2021. The programme was carried out under Swachh Bharat Mission of Government of India.
The day-long program was inaugurated by Colonel MKS Rathore, Commanding Officer, 1 Goa Battalion NCC Panaji, at a function held earlier at Youth Hostel, Campal. Cultural programs were also conducted as part of the event to create more awareness among the public.
Colonel MKS Rathore, speaking at the function, said that each person should take some responsibility to implement the Swachh Bharat program. We should always reduce the consumption that leads to waste generation, he said.
“Under the Puneet Sagar program of the NCC which is being observed from 1st to 31 December, over 3000 NCC cadets participated in various cleanliness drives across Goa. The collected wastes were disposed of with the help of the Panaji Corporation. More such activities have to be conducted to create more awareness among the public about the topic,” he said.
Colonel BS Charak, Administration Officer of 1 Goa Battalion NCC Panaji, Asha Vernekar of Goa Livelihood Forum, Balaji Kendre of Feedback Foundation, and officials from Corporation of the City of Panaji were also present at the function.
Over 100 volunteers including NCC cadets took out an awareness rally to Miramar Beach before launching the massive cleanliness drive. The volunteers collected 50 kg of dry waste from the beach.
As part of the event, a mini photo exhibition was conducted at the beach to create awareness among the tourists and other visitors about the importance of keeping the beaches of Goa and its neighborhoods clean. A street play was also performed at the beach for the public as part of the initiative.
Earlier the day, a team of members of women self help groups visited the Material Recovery Facility of the CCP at Taleigao to learn the process of waste segregation and disposal. Officials from the CCP conducted a workshop for the group members explaining the process of waste segregation and disposal.RB/SRT/DR
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Ministry of Finance
CGST Commissionerate Mumbai West busts Rs 10.61 Crores fake GST invoice racket
Mumbai, 28 July 2022
The officers of Anti-Evasion wing of CGST Commissionerate Mumbai West of Mumbai Zone have unearthed a fake Input Tax Credit  Network of Rs 10.61 Crores involving bogus invoices of more than Rs 76 Crores and arrested the Proprietor of a Malad based company for GST fraud.
Acting on a tip off received, an investigation was initiated against M/s Sanghvi Traders which revealed that fake Input Tax Credit  of Rs.10.61 Crore was availed and passed on without actual receipt or supply of goods, in gross violation of provisions of the CGST Act, 2017. For this fraud, bogus invoices of more than Rs. 76 Crores were issued.
During investigation, statement of the proprietor of this company was recorded, wherein he admitted his role in this GST fraud. He was arrested on 27.07.2022 under Section 69 of CGST Act, 2017 for contravention of Section 132 of the CGST Act, 2017. He was produced before the Hon’ble Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Esplanade on 27.07.2022. The Magistrate has remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.
The officers of Mumbai Zone are using data analysis and network analysis tools to identify potential fraudsters. This case is a part of special drive launched by the CGST Mumbai Zone against the fraudsters and fake ITC network dealers, who have been causing un-healthy competition for the honest taxpayers.
During the financial year 2021-22, the CGST Mumbai West Commissionerate has detected GST evasion of Rs. 603.88 Crores, recovered Rs. 68.21 Crores and arrested 7 tax evaders. CGST Mumbai West Commissionerate will intensify the drive against the fraudsters and fake entities, engaged in availing and passing of fake ITC, in the coming days.PIB Mumbai | CP/DR
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Ministry of Civil Aviation
Over 2100 Indians brought back today by special flights from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries
More than 15 thousand 9 hundred Indians have been brought back by special flights so far
Under ‘Operation Ganga’ to rescue Indian citizens, 2135 Indians have been brought back today by 11 special civilian flights from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries. With this, more than 15 thousand 9 hundred Indians have been brought back since the special flights began on 22nd February, 2022.The number of Indians airlifted by 66 special civilian flights goes up to 13852. Till date, the IAF has flown 10 sorties to bring back 2056 passengers, while taking 26 tonnes of relief load to these countries, as part of Op Ganga.
Among the special Civilian flights today, 9 landed in New Delhi while 2 reached Mumbai. There were 6 flights from Budapest, 2 from Bucharest, 2 from Rzeszow, and 1 from Kosice.
Tomorrow, 8 special flights are expected to operate from Budapest , Suceva  and Bucharest , bringing in more than 1500 Indians back home.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Schemes to Support MSMEs
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises  sector plays an important role in the growth of the Indian economy. As per the latest information received from Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, the share of MSME Gross Value Added  in all India Gross Domestic Product  during the year 2021-22 was 29.2% and the share of MSME manufacturing output in all India Manufacturing output during the year 2021-22 was 36.2%.
As per the information received from Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics , the share of export of MSME specified products in all India exports during the year 2022-23 was 43.6%.
The Udyam Registration Portal has 2,18,69,557 MSMEs registered since its inception  to 08.08.2023 with an employment of 12,84,04,488 . This includes 30,96,140 informal micro enterprises on the Udyam Assist Platform with an employment of 38,57,385.
The Ministry of MSME is implementing MSME Champions Scheme, a Central Sector Scheme. MSME Champions Schemes comprising three components i.e., MSME-Sustainable , MSME-Competitive  & MSME-Innovative  for promoting competitiveness amongst Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises  by the way of wastage reduction through Lean Manufacturing, support for Design improvement, building awareness on Intellectual Property Rights, Zero Defect Zero Effect  Scheme to encourage and enable MSMEs for manufacturing of quality products, tools & to constantly upgrade their processes for achievement of high quality and high productivity with the least effect on the environment, and to promote & support ideas of MSMEs through Incubation across India.
The objective is to modernize MSMEs’ manufacturing processes, reduce wastages, encourage innovativeness, sharpen business competitiveness and facilitate their National and Global reach and excellence.
The Schemes are applicable for the benefit of registered manufacturing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises  across India. The scheme assistance and subsidies are applicable as per the scheme guidelines. The guidelines and all other relevant information related to the scheme of MSME Innovative, MSME Sustainable  & MSME-Competitive  under MSME champions are available at http://www.innovative.msme.gov.in, http://www.zed.msme.gov.in & https://www.lean.msme.gov.in/ respectively and financial assistance provided all over the country are available at official website of DC .
This information was given by Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.